WASHINGTON D.C. — Everybody knows that it isn’t easy being a Phillies fan, especially my friend Cliff who is loyal to that team. The Phillies have more losses than any other franchise, over 10,000 in fact. They only won it all once, back in 1980. The feat was so rare that someone I knew said it was the happiest day of her life. She was 10 at the time, so draw your own conclusions about what has happened to her since.

Cliff probably doesn’t remember that ’80 victory too well, given how young he was at the time. What I’m trying to say is being a Phillies fan rarely pays off; just ask Joe Queenan. This year it finally did off for Cliff. Not only did his team win the division, he won our annual Half-smoke/Cheesesteak Challenge which is determined by head-to-head records between the two clubs. Last year, I won a cheesesteak.

Cliff was in town last week, so I finally got to make good on our bet. This was his first trip to Ben’s, so I wondered how he would enjoy a chili half smoke.

It turns out I didn’t need to wonder much, he even bought himself another. We had cheese fries too.

On WTOP this morning, Cal Thomas predicted the Nats would have more wins than in 2007 and might make the playoffs. As with all of his other predictions, Thomas noted that his predictions had an accuracy margin of 100%.

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When I was 9 years old, we visited our former neighbors in their new Michigan home for Thanksgiving. According to Bruce Campbell, we didn’t celebrate the right way.

Later that weekend, we piled into the back of a Chevy station wagon (diesel even) and drove through Detroit to Windsor, Ont. just to say we went to Canada, I guess. We had McDonald’s and since it was warm, the back window was rolled down. J.J. shot spitballs onto the Canadian street. Then we got stuck in traffic crossing the Ambassador Bridge and I half-ate a Snickers.